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Clearcut Nation
A 30-minute Slideshow
now available on YouTube in three 10-minute segments.
Please contact Battle Creek Alliance if you would like to invite the Sierra Club's Stop Clearcutting Campaign Coordinator Marily Woodhouse to present Clearcut Nation to a gathering of friends an organization, school or church.
Please contact the Battle Creek Alliance if you would like to receive a DVD of Clearcut Nation.
Volunteer's welcome. Donations accepted to help us stop deforestation. Make checks payable to Signal of Love Inc.
a California 501 (c)(3)
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Click here to go to the thp tracking center website to find a forest near or far from you that will soon fall to the loggers saw under proposed Timber Harvest Plan's to clearcut millions more acres of forests in California, and beyond.
Learn about, comment on , and protect California and world forests
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Please ask us what you can do to help save
some of the last intact forests in California.
The Battle Creek Alliance, email and contact information is at the top of this page.
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Water + Air + Soil + Climate = LIFE
Clearcutting Impacts Them All
Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) owns 1.7 million acres, or 58%, of the industrial timberland in the state. SPI has already cut or has plans to cut the majority of those acres.
What SPI does, matters and has consequences.
The graph below shows the 250,000 acres that were approved by the state, for conversion of mixed forests to tree farms between 1999 and 2006
Clearcutting and the subsequent herbicide use have obvious impacts on endangered and threatened species, but they affect all species, including our own.
Animals found in California forests include: porcupines, bald eagles, wolverines and red fox. These species and many others are struggling for survival.
The Sierra-Nevada and Cascade Mountain Ranges are the heart of our state's watershed system. The lakes, rivers, streams and seasonal watercourses are the veins. These watersheds supply the majority of the state's water. Without the canopy cover and root systems that mature trees provide, rainwater runs off the barren land of a clearcut, instead of replenishing the groundwater.
Clear cutting destroys topsoil,
native plants and all the forest ecosystem.
native plants and all the forest ecosystem.
Streams near clear cuts are full of topsoil due to lack of vegetation on surrounding mountains and the many miles of logging roads.
Clearcutting depletes the forest's ability to maintain watersheds. A functioning forest inhales carbon and exhales oxygen and creates topsoil. Its root system stabilizes the soil, while the tree canopy allows water to percolate slowly through the soil to maintain the water cycle and protect clean water. While wood products store a small amount of carbon, they perform none of these other functions.
A water drafting site. Logging company water trucks suck water out of the creeks to water down the logging roads. At this site, the soil was contaminated with diesel at the edge of the creek. The state of California allows SPI and other logging companies to self- monitor the water quality within their logging areas.
Using SPI’s figures, if two THPs (Timber Harvest Plans) are drafting from the sites that they propose, it would amount to 48,000 gallons of water per day from April to October to waste on watering down roads. Figuring 5 days a week for even 5 months times 48,000 gallons equals 4.8 million gallons of water.
Clearcutting and the use of heavy equipment and all of the activities associated with it, as well as herbicide use before and after logging to kill native vegetation, depletes and destroys the soil. Aside from the negative effects of compaction and erosion, roads are the largest cause of stream sedimentation which has a detrimental effect on water quality and wildlife.
Above: The remaining acres between 2 clearcut units. By law, this can be cut 5 years after the completion of the earlier clearcuts.
Below: The 2 year old replanted trees in one of the adjacent units that had been clearcut.
Above: The remaining acres between 2 clearcut units. By law, this can be cut 5 years after the completion of the earlier clearcuts.
Below: The 2 year old replanted trees in one of the adjacent units that had been clearcut.
Clear cutting uses smaller crews as does automation of mills, thereby costing jobs. Job losses to automation far exceed any due to environmental protection requirements.
This huge modern tree killer is called a feller-buncher
Clearcutting is currently legal on private land, but while private rights are important, they can not be at the expense of the majority of the people's needs, health and welfare.
California state laws provide that the water, air, fish, and wildlife belong to all the citizens of the state.
Many species of animals on the ground and in the air, including this Golden Eagle, need mature forests to live in.
Estimates for the amount of Old Growth remaining: 1-3%
Age when forests start exhibiting old growth characteristics: 200+ years
SPI's length of rotations between timber harvests: 50 - 80 years
Possibility of any plantations becoming old growth: 0%
Many species of animals on the ground and in the air, including this Golden Eagle, need mature forests to live in.
Estimates for the amount of Old Growth remaining: 1-3%
Age when forests start exhibiting old growth characteristics: 200+ years
SPI's length of rotations between timber harvests: 50 - 80 years
Possibility of any plantations becoming old growth: 0%
Studies show that the plantations that replace diverse forests are extremely fire-prone.
When there are wildfires in plantations, the percentage of trees killed is much higher than in older mixed species forests.
The slash that is left creates a greater wildfire danger.
When there are wildfires in plantations, the percentage of trees killed is much higher than in older mixed species forests.
The slash that is left creates a greater wildfire danger.
SPI's conifer plantations are replacing California's forests at a rapid rate.
Tops of dead trees provide nesting habitat for many birds including this species of "special concern", an osprey family.
Mature diverse forests are needed to combat climate change. Deforestation is one of the leading sources of carbon emissions.
Clear cut forest near Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lassen Peak on the left.
Scientific studies find that the temperature increases 5 to 10 degrees in a clearcut, while the humidity drops 35%. The dead native cedar tried to survive in these conditions.
Clear cut forest near Lassen Volcanic National Park. Lassen Peak on the left.
Scientific studies find that the temperature increases 5 to 10 degrees in a clearcut, while the humidity drops 35%. The dead native cedar tried to survive in these conditions.
As more forests are leveled by Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI), and some other logging companies in California, the use of herbicides increases every year. In California 258,000 pounds of chemical herbicides were used for forestry in 2006.
The graph represents only Shasta County.
The graph represents only Shasta County.
Our goal
Pressure Sierra Pacific Industries and other logging companies to stop clearcutting California
through citizen education and involvement.
Google Earth image of SPI clear cuts along Battle Creek, one of the largest tributaries of the Sacramento River and one of the few places left for wild run salmon. Lassen National Forest and Park are just east of here.
See more Google Earth images on our
Google images page
Aerial view of Lassen clear cuts.
Lassen Volcanic National Park is at the top of the photo.
Your tax-deductible contributions will help save
California's forests from deforestation.
Donate using Google Checkout below
California's forests from deforestation.
Donate using Google Checkout below
If you prefer to donate using PayPal, please visit our other website, www.StopClearcuttingCalifornia.org.
Mail checks to: SOL, Inc.
PO Box 225
Montgomery Creek, CA 96065
Signal of Love, Inc is a 501 (c) (3)
Mail checks to: SOL, Inc.
PO Box 225
Montgomery Creek, CA 96065
Signal of Love, Inc is a 501 (c) (3)
